Councillors defeat City Hall proposal on empty affordable houses

City Hall’s proposal to hand over 57 empty houses to the Cluid Housing Association was defeated by councillors on Monday and the matter must now be re-examined by the Department of the Environment.

At Monday’s city council meeting, councillors decided not to hand over 57 empty affordable houses to Cluid. Instead they want City Hall to seek permission from the Department of the Environment to use the 57 houses as social housing, given that waiting list stands at more than 3,000.

The motion to have the homes declared social housing units came from Independent councillor Catherine Connolly, who has welcomed the backing of the other councillors in this.

She said City Hall’s proposal to hand over the empty houses to Cluid on the basis of five years raises “the most serious questions” and “would create another type of tenancy” which would leave tenants with less protection.

“Worse still it was confirmed that once a tenant went to Cluid under this scheme they would come off the waiting list even though the agreement was only for five years,” she said. “After five years the tenant would in effect be without a house with only the simple reassurance that the city council would look after them!”

The matter is now back with the Department of the Environment for reconsideration.